Japan Air Self-Defense Force Warrant Officer Junji Miura, left, the 3rd Air Wing command chief, Noriko Ohtani, center left, a 3rd AW U.S. Relations Section member, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cesar Ventura, center right, a 35th Fighter Wing inspector general vertical inspections planner, and JASDF Warrant Officer Tsuyoshi Endo, right, the former 6th Air Defense Missile Group chief and Senior Noncommissioned Officer Association president, pose for a photo in the 3rd AW headquarters at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Feb. 14, 2018. In the past four years, Ventura worked with Miura, Endo and Ohtani on numerous bilateral events bringing U.S. and Japan servicemembers closer as allies and friends. Ventura attributes his success to his Hispanic upbringing and seeks new adventures every day where he can learn something new about another's culture. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton)

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cesar Ventura, right, a 35th Fighter Wing inspector general vertical inspections planner, and Japan Air Self-Defense Force Warrant Officer Tsuyoshi Endo, right, the former 6th Air Defense Missile Group chief and Senior Noncommissioned Officer Association president, exchange mutual thanks for Ventura's many years of service to JASDF in the 3rd Air Wing's headquarters at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Feb. 14, 2018. "Vinny-san" as Endo refers to Ventura by, submitted him for his service's Special Class Award and on Dec. 13, 2017, JASDF Warrant Officer Junji Miura, the 3rd Air Wing command chief, presented the award on behalf of the Area Defense Command in Tokyo. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton)

Japan Air Self-Defense Force Warrant Officer Junji Miura, the 3rd Air Wing command chief, smirks as he discusses his friend's, JASDF Warrant Officer Tsuyoshi Endo, the former 6th Air Defense Missile Group chief and Senior Noncommissioned Officer Association president, retirement plans with U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cesar Ventura, a 35th Fighter Wing inspector general vertical inspections planner, at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Feb. 14, 2018. Over the past four years, Ventura worked with Miura and Endo planning and organizing bilateral events including dining outs and tug-of-war competitions. His mastery of their culture and language helped him grow so close with the two warrants that now they call him, "like family." (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton)

Japan Air Self-Defense Force Warrant Officer Tsuyoshi Endo, the former 6th Air Defense Missile Group chief and Senior Noncommissioned Officer Association president, looks down at his coffee cup during "tea time" discussions with U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cesar Ventura, a 35th Fighter Wing inspector general vertical inspections planner, and JASDF Warrant Officer Junji Miura, the 3rd Air Wing command chief, at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Feb. 14, 2018. Endo joined Ventura and Miura to discuss his retirement plans and ensure Ventura remained included in a special family gathering later this month. The three men enjoy meetings of this nature as it affords them an opportunity to connect not only professionally, but personally as well. Endo and Miura, echoing each other, said, "He's like family to me." (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton)

U.S. and Japan protocol flags sit next to a bundle of flowers on a table during a meeting between U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cesar Ventura and two Japan Air Self-Defense Force warrant officers with the 3rd Air Wing at Misawa Air Base, Japan, Feb. 14, 2018. The three met to discuss one of the warrant's retirement plans. This meeting reflects a very common theme for the three men who over the past four years have become "like family." Ventura is a vertical inspections planner with the 35th Fighter Wing's Inspector General's office and hails from Los Angeles, California. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin W. Stratton)

MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan -- An intelligence analyst by day and cultural envoy by night, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Cesar Ventura grew up one of four siblings of a Hispanic immigrant family in Los Angeles, California. Of his family, “Vinny” and his brothers spoke both English and Spanish.

“Mijo, can you come tell me what they’re saying to me?” his mom would ask Vinny in Spanish.

His parents didn’t speak English, so they relied on Vinny and his brothers to translate for them while running errands around town.

“Sí,” he’d respond. “They said, ‘Thank you!’”

Those trips around town taught him the importance of understanding intercultural communication. He spent a lot of time exploring comics and graphic novels for the easy reading and eventually found a liking for Anime in high school.

“I liked it [Anime] so much I wanted to watch it without the subtitles, so I just learned Japanese,” he said. “Today, every country I visit, I learn the basics of their language and culture, so I can really connect with them according to their communication preferences.”

Ventura said his whole life, from his childhood in L.A. to a brief stint in the U.S. Navy from 1997 to 2001 to crossing into the U.S. Air Force in 2003, prepared him for Misawa, Japan, where he’s built partnerships with complete strangers, many of whom have become like family.

He now serves as a vertical inspections planner with the 35th Fighter Wing’s Inspector General’s office. In this capacity, he organizes, trains and oversees the Wing Inspector General’s Inspection Team. It’s not this job, though, that earned him respect among his Japanese counterparts.

The Misawa veteran dedicated hundreds of hours forging friendships and strengthening the U.S.-Japan security alliance over the past four years with 3rd Air Wing Airmen earning him the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Special Class Award presented by the JASDF Area Defense Command on Dec. 13, 2017.

“His contributions to our bilateral relationship far exceed anything Misawa-specific—he’s made an impact on the entirety of the Area Defense Command and our nation,” said JASDF Warrant Officer Tsuyoshi Endo, the former Senior Noncommissioned Officer Association president who is in his final month of service before retirement after serving for nearly 40 years.

“Vinny-san is like family to me,” said JASDF Warrant Officer Junji Miura, the 3rd Air Wing command chief. “He’s part of our inner circle. He always tells us, ‘If you ever need anything, just ask,’ and that same sentiment is absolutely true for us. He can call us at any time, day or night, and we’ll be there for him.”

Miura and Endo hold Ventura in such high regard he’s met their spouses, and their spouses have met his wife. He’s even cooked his favorite Italian dish for them.

“It was delicious!” smirked Miura. “He really can cook!”

The two warrant officers aren’t the only Japanese he’s developed close friendships with at Misawa. There’s many similar stories, all leading back to his dedication to enhancing Team Misawa’s quality of life initiatives and resiliency.

“I like to see and experience other country’s militaries and how they operate,” he explained. “Learning their language is a key part to that experience. My intelligence analyst training made it easier and helped me better decipher the intricacies of each language I’ve encountered.”

“We do it so often in preparation for the real deal that now it just comes so natural,” he said. “Language is the same way. When it comes to understanding language and culture, you really can’t have one without the other; it’s better for both sides if we embrace both as one.”

Not only can Ventura speak Japanese fluently, but he’s also learned some 400 of the roughly 1,200 Kanji characters in the Japanese writing system.

“I pick up something new every time I go off base or interact with my Japanese friends,” he said.

One friend, Noriko Ohtani, who works in the U.S. Relations Section at the 3rd Air Wing, said Vinny-san is her 9-1-1 emergency contact, “Always!”

“When I first came to Misawa, I had never worked with the Ministry of Defense,” she said. “It scared me, really, honestly, but after talking with Vinny-san, he helped me realize I didn’t need to be scared. I felt comfortable talking with other military members from that day forward.”

Thanks to Ventura, Ohtani said, she’s been successful in her position here and been able to build really strong relations with other U.S. military members.

“I’m just so thankful we met,” she added.

With a tearful grin, Endo echoed Ohtani’s sentiment saying, “I’m super, super, super…appreciative of everything Vinny-san has done for me, my family and my Airmen. Even after I retire next month, and he moves on to his next assignment, I would like to keep this relationship going—I can’t imagine a world where we’re no longer friends.”

Finding it hard to say the right words, Miura gestures at Endo signaling he agrees, “He’s like family.”